Canned Peaches
by Lady Aurelia
Summary: Peach blossoms are more beautiful than cherry blossoms. 100 drabbles of Akura-Ou/Nanami.
1. Innocence

**Updates will be sporadic. This is officially my new OTP after chapter 89. All of my love for this pairing.**

* * *

**Innocence**

* * *

"You're like a dog sometimes," Nanami commented as she handed him another can of peaches. She watched as he made that stupid, dorky grin and then proceeded to cut through the metal with his claws.

"What?" he absently replied as he tilted the can upside down and let the processed peach slices tumble into his mouth. The brown haired woman hid a smile behind her hand as he swallowed and let out a satisfied 'aaahh'.

"You get happy so easily. From peaches!"

"I've never tasted anything like these. Hm," he put his elbows on the wooden table and stared at her through his long lashes and eyeliner. Nanami blinked and tried to smile at him. Even if he seemed docile now, Akura-Ou used to be an acquaintance of Tomoe's (or, he still is, seeing as she was in the past).

"Ca-Can I help you?" Nanami offered nervously.

"Where did you get these—metal tins with peaches?" he asked seriously.

She cracked a small smile and he raised an eyebrow at her amusement. _I suppose that back then, having such nicely prepared peaches is rare. Even rarer for them to be so sweet._

"It's a… family business," she lied. She could not very well tell him that they came from a store, and before that a factory, since that would screw up time.

"Interesting," his red eyes bore into hers.

"A-Are you going to stop staring sometime soon?" she squeaked. "It's kinda creepy!"

"Noooope," he grinned, showing off his impressive canines.

"How about for a can of peaches?"

His ears seem to perk up at the mention of more peaches, and he eagerly held out a hand for them. Nanami reached into her overly large backpack and grabbed one of the numerous cans that Mikage had thrown into her bag. She dropped it in the red haired demon's hand and he got to work devouring it.

_No, he's more like an eager child than a dog. _Another set of peach slices fell into his mouth. _It's strange, to be so comfortable in the presence of demons. I feel content in his company. Somehow, I can't see myself leaving._

She giggled then and he looked at her strangely. "Nothing, nothing," she reassured.

_At least, until I run out of peaches._


	2. Foreign

**The prompt table/theme set I am following for this story can be found on my profile!**

* * *

**Foreign**

* * *

His hand brushed something soft along the bottom of her bag as he reached in for another can of peaches. Intrigued, he abandoned the can and grasped the foreign object instead, feeling the way it tickled his palm and fingers.

With a harsh yank, and a clatter of the cans inside her bag, he pulled it out.

Nanami stopped and turned around immediately, thinking that someone had decided to steal from her enormous backpack. Akura-Ou stood behind her, sniffing a feather that seemed to be in perfect shape despite being at the bottom of the pile.

"What's this?" he asked as he sniffed it again. "It smells like a tengu."

"That's… that's a friend of mine's feather," Nanami said sheepishly as she reached out to take it from him. Akura-Ou held it above her head and she tried to jump up to grab at it. She puffed her cheeks out in frustration. "Give it back!"

"Why?" he teased with a grin and held it higher. She jumped and tried to swipe at it again.

"Because it's a gift!"

"You're an interesting woman, you know," his grin turned feral and he held the feather between two hands. Nanami widened her eyes. "To get a feather from a crow tengu. To be friends with one. I thought they thought that all women were sacrilege and would lead people into temptation."

"Hey, hang on a sec—!"

The feather snapped in his hands and he threw it away carelessly. "You don't need that," he commented.

Nanami balled her hands into fists at her sides and silently fumed at the demon in front of her. "H-How dare you!" she yelled at him and that seemed to snap him out of his airy demeanor. "That was… a gift from a precious friend! He gave it to me so that I could—"

"So that you could?"

"—So that I could… be protected," she finished lamely. It would be embarrassing to reveal that Kurama gave it to her so that she could see the supernatural again after she lost all of her powers. She had them back, now, but Nanami would never throw away such a gift.

"Protection? Ha!" he slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close until they were hip-to-hip. Nanami was about to yell at him when he turned to look down at her with a serious expression. "You don't need protection from another demon. You've got me."

The brown haired woman flushed a deep pink at his words, even as the demon kept walking with his arm around her shoulders. _Perhaps he's not so bad. He might just be worried about me…_

"Because from now on: you're my woman!" he exclaimed proudly.

_Yeah, I'm his—_

"Wait, _**what**_?!"


	3. Through the Fire

**Honestly, the suspense for chapter 91 is killing me. Please come out already...!**

* * *

**Through the Fire**

* * *

Nanami fell to her knees and hacked violently. She coughed into the sleeve of her kimono—mentally lamenting the fact that she was getting it dirty—and pushed herself off of the floor. Through her blurry vision, she could make out the window on the opposite side of her. The door to her room had already collapsed from the burning wood, and if she did not get out, _she_ would collapse.

The land god tightened her grip on her backpack and slowly made her way to the window. She needed fresh air, or else she would suffocate in the fire. Nanami cursed her rotten luck to stay inside an inn that just so happened to have a fire the day she bought a room.

Her knees wobbled, and she fell face-first onto the floor. Without the proper oxygen in her bloodstream, she could barely move, let alone walk.

_It can't end here. I have… have to find Kuromaro… on… Ontake Mountain… help Tomoe…_

She coughed again as black dots swam freely in her vision. With renewed determination, she pushed herself up again, only to collapse as another piece of burning wood fell behind her. Nanami squeezed her eyes shut as tears rolled down her cheeks (as a result of the raging fire or her own emotions, she did not know).

Her bag was snatched from her grasp and she weakly clawed at whoever dared to steal from her now. Within another few seconds, an arm wrapped around her waist and she was hauled into someone's arms, bridal-style.

"You're so troublesome, scarf lady," a familiar voice rang in her ears. She could not place it due to her brain trying to keep her alive, but she held tightly onto the leather that the person wore as if it was her lifeline. "If you die in here, it's your fault for being so weak."

She did not respond and then felt a nail prod her sides. "Are you dead?" he asked.

"No," she weakly replied and finally mustered enough strength to turn her head to see who it was. Akura-Ou's diamond face greeted her with a questioning gaze and then grinned as she looked at him.

"Good," he slung her backpack over his other shoulder and calmly strolled through the burning building. It was as if the flames did not even dare to touch him.

"Thank you," she croaked. She could have sworn she felt him stop mid-step, but it was so fast that she thought she just imagined it. Nanami struggled to stay conscious as he carried her out of the building.

She put her face against the leather of his coat and inhaled sharply. Nanami did not have the same sense of smell as demons did, but the scent of familiar leather and peaches put her at peace. She clung to his coat and let her eyes slip closed as the fresh air hit her.

She could sleep soundly in his arms.


	4. Drink

**Hey guys! I just wanted to thank you so much for your reviews, and follows, and favourites! I honestly did not think that this story would hit it off so quickly, because it seems that about 99% of the stories here are Tomoe/Nanami. Thank you so much!**

**Also, I have set up a poll on my page. You can help me choose the next prompt for this story, if you'd like! The poll will change whenever I update, and updates are still sporadic. I just thought that you guys might appreciate knowing some of the future prompts.**

**Again, thank you so much for your continued support!**

* * *

**Drink**

* * *

"Scarf lady?"

A cup of sake in hand, the red haired demon watched with amusement as Nanami stumbled around the perimeter of the room. It should have been expected that she had such low alcohol tolerance since she was still a minor where she came from, but Akura-Ou had no knowledge of that. He simply found the bottles of sake—_Mizuki_'s sake—in her bag and declared a drinking party.

In response, she giggled as her legs buckled under her weight and let her forehead hit the top of the table. She groaned and then struggled to sit upright. Akura-Ou poured himself another cup and raised it to his lips.

She stuck her hand out, sake cup in hand, and silently pleaded for him to pour her another one. He laughed and passed the bottle to her other hand. "I'm not pouring you anything."

"But… sake…!" she whined and held the bottle in front of him as if his acceptance would be the answer to the meaning of life. He merely leaned on his elbow and watched her futile attempts to get him to pour her a cup with amusement.

"Another," he nonchalantly ignored her request and held out his own cup. Nanami tipped the bottle over on reflex to pour him another one. In her drunken state, she could hardly keep her mind intact enough to realize that she was supposed to be bugging _him_ to pour it, not her. "That's a good girl."

She whined again and held out her cup to him, waiting. Akura-Ou relinquished the cup from her hands and ran his tongue along the outer rim, watching her reaction to such an act. He took the bottle of sake and poured just a tiny bit into the cup before handing it back to her.

Nanami drank from it all the same, as if she did not notice that he trailed all of his saliva over her cup.

He burst out into loud laughter at that, and she looked at him quizzically for only a second before laughing with him, even if she had no idea what he was laughing about.

"Oh, scarf lady, you are a riot!" he grinned and downed his eleventh cup of alcohol. She merely gave him an airy smile and then squinted in his general direction. He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You haaave… sa-saaa-sake," she slurred as she sluggishly made her way over to him. He decided to humour her and not move away.

"What of it?" his lips twitched upward in a horribly concealed grin.

"I want… sooome," she hiccupped and steadied herself with his knees. Her hands trailed up to caress his face messily, like an inexperienced lover. He did not move.

And then he realized that she was all too close, that the fog of alcohol had probably gotten to him too, because one moment she was stumbling around and the next her lips were over his, and the scent of alcohol hit him like a ton of bricks. The shock lasted a moment, before he snaked his hands up the bottom of her kimono to her thighs, and she squeaked.

Nanami pushed away from him and tripped over her own feet. He grabbed her wrist before she could go too far, and pulled her down to his lap.

"You shouldn't leave things half-finished, scarf lady," he breathed into her ear, and his hands tugged at the obi that held her kimono together.

The sake bottle was left half-empty.


	5. Questioning

**Happy Valentine's Day!**

**Although for me it's Single Awareness Day. Either way-chocolate!**

**I hope you guys have a lovely V-Day! Speaking of, is anyone going to attend Katsucon? I can't stop staring at my shiny US visa. (My mother doesn't want to become a citizen of the EU, so I'm stuck with a Chinese passport and you need a visa to go to the US if you're a PRC citizen, waaaah. The visa cost me like 60 euros along with a ton of paperwork I mean what even is this).**

**[ Also, to people who have messaged me that I haven't gotten back to-I'm sorry! I'm sorta busy with finishing the last few adjustments to my cosplay and props for Katsu and it's going to be so fun! Hopefully I can get back to you after Katsucon. ]**

**[ PPS: Only three people voted on the poll so I'm just going to keep up longer. ]**

* * *

**Questioning**

* * *

Akura-Ou lay on the tatami mat and propped himself up with his elbow. On the table in front of him sat an innocent black box with a red bow over the top. His name was written on the side to show that it was his, but he honestly had no idea what to do with it.

Nanami had given it to him, telling him it was tradition where she came from that she give 'cha-ko-re-to' to people who were close to her on 'ba-li-n-tai-n-su' day. He had no idea what either of those words meant, but had accepted it anyway. What puzzled him weren't the words she had used, but the fact that when he sniffed it, he was hit with a mixture of scents.

There was the scent of steel, other humans, some kind of foul smelling perfume, a bunch of unknown substances, smoke, and lord knew what else. He did want to touch it when it reeked so badly (how could Nanami even stand being near this thing?). Blowing a piece of red hair out of his face, he grabbed the box and sliced it in half with his claws.

Little brown _things_ fell out of the box and he only stared at them even more. They were carved in the shape of seashells, and Akura-Ou prodded one of them with his claw. Nanami said something about them being delicious.

"_I bought this chocolate for you!" she had said. He only looked at her like she had grown another head. "It's really good! Happy Valentine's Day!"_

Puffing out his cheeks, Akura-Ou picked up one of the tiny brown things and threw it into his mouth. The chocolate melted on his tongue to reveal caramel, and the treat went down his throat without trouble. He tore through the remaining few pieces without much difficulty.

(When Nanami found him next week, he pounced on her and demanded more.)


	6. Creation

**Hello! Sorry for the long hiatus! After Katsucon there were a lot of things that I needed to do, and of course there was also schoolwork. My birthday passed on February 20th, so now I'm officially old! (How old? Secret.)**

**Thank you for support even through my hiatus! It was what made me update with such a long chapter. uwu The poll on my page has been updated with new prompts; thank you to everyone who took their time to vote!**

**Also! Please note: _Nanami is at least 26 in this chapter_!**

* * *

**Creation**

* * *

It felt surreal.

He had spent days upon days pressing his ear against the flesh of her stomach, feeling a tiny jolt when the baby inside kicked and rolled around. He was a demon that destroyed: lives, homes, that old decoration for the festival, and anything he could get his hands on. To ingest the idea of being a father, of for once not destroying but _creating_—he did not know what to feel.

Fascinated, at first. He'd poke and prod at her stomach, asking her constantly when she would be due, and wondering how a baby could fit within the confines of her body. She laughed and told him to wait; it would be nine months before he even had a glance.

Nine months passed too slowly for him, and when she woke up in the middle of the night crying in pain, he instinctively knew it was time. Akura-Ou had no experience in the process, so he stepped out of the room when the midwife came and helped Nanami. He waited three eager hours outside, until finally a cry reached his ears and he almost kicked down the door.

"It's a boy," she told him tiredly, but the smile on her face betrayed her weariness. She was positively _glowing_.

Akura-Ou quickly moved in, but the midwife shooed him away and told him to wait a little longer. He sharpened his claws and was about to attack her, when Nanami told him firmly to stop and move outside like he was asked. He sulked and dragged himself out.

A week later, after they were sure the baby was fine, he finally got to see him.

The baby reached out his arms and waggled his chubby fingers at Akura-Ou. The demon leaned in, staring curiously at the child—_his_ child.

"Don't be afraid, go ahead and make contact," Nanami said.

He reached out a pale, clawed hand and stopped right before he touched the baby's face. For once, he had no idea what to do and how he should go about it. Nanami laughed and urged him to go on, but his hand froze where it was. The baby's tiny hand wrapped around his finger, and he was jolted back to reality. They tugged weakly at his overly large fingers and he felt a surge of—of _something_ inside him.

He did not know whether it was pride, or astonishment, or joy, or anger. It did not feel like anything he had experienced before. Hesitantly, he touched the baby's face with a finger and felt the skin dip under his strength.

"Did you name him?" he asked, his gaze still focused on the baby.

"I was waiting for you," Nanami replied. She held the baby closer and started rocking him.

Akura-Ou felt that sensation again, and he finally realized what it was: peace. There, in that room with his wife and his son, he felt at peace. He let a smile grace his features and reached out to touch the baby again. He cooed and the baby hiccupped in happiness. This was something he _created_, that he _helped_ in creating.

"Ryo," he suddenly said. "His name is Ryo, for he is refreshing."

Ryo giggled and swatted at Akura-Ou's finger.


	7. Introduction

**Well apparently the next chapter of Kamisama Hajimemashita will not be out until June. orz Just when things were starting to get good! In any case, it's exam week, but writing muses hit hard.**

**The poll on my page has been updated accordingly with new prompts. c:**

* * *

**Introduction**

* * *

When he sees her again after centuries of longing, he wants to envelope her in his arms. He wants to hold her close and whisper sweet nothings. He wants to touch her with his human hands and wants to tell her how much he has missed her company. It was like a bottle that had been sealed firmly shut had burst open now.

Some part of him cracks. He knows that _this_ Nanami has not met him yet—has not spent her lifetime among demons. She knows only Tomoe, and Akura-Ou wants to steal her away. He wants to hide her away from Tomoe and have him guess where she is.

'_Ah, you again, brother.'_

Except he imagines those words as malice. Some old part of him grins, wants to start up another game with the fox. But he knows he would never.

Nanami is worth much more than just a game.

She smiles at him. It's a bright smile, one that he knows instinctively.

(For a moment, he is not on palace grounds, but a field in the middle of a forest. His head is on her lap, and she's telling him about the flowers that are supposed to bloom that time of year.)

—But it's a smile for a stranger.

"My name is Nanami," she says as she introduces herself with a bow.

He reaches out, wants to run his hands through her hair, but restrains himself.

"Call me Kirihito."


End file.
